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Register a new userNGC 3894: a young radio galaxy seen by Fermi-LAT
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G. Principe
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Context. According to radiative models, radio galaxies may produce gamma-ray emission from the first stages of their evolution. However, very few such galaxies have been detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) so far. Aims. NGC 3894 is a nearby (z = 0.0108) object that belongs to the class of compact symmetric objects (CSOs, i.e., the most compact and youngest radio galaxies), which is associated with a gamma-ray counterpart in the Fourth Fermi-LAT source catalog. Here we present a study of the source in the gamma-ray and radio bands aimed at investigating its high-energy emission and assess its young nature. Methods. We analyzed 10.8 years of Fermi-LAT data between 100 MeV and 300 GeV and determined the spectral and variability characteristics of the source. Multi-epoch very long baseline array (VLBA) observations between 5 and 15 GHz over a period of 35 years were used to study the radio morphology of NGC 3894 and its evolution. Results. NGC 3894 is detected in gamma-rays with a significance >9 sigma over the full period, and no significant variability has been observed in the gamma-ray flux on a yearly time-scale. The spectrum is modeled with a flat power law ($Gamma$ = 2.0$pm$0.1) and a flux on the order of 2.2 $times$ 10$^{-9}$ ph cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. For the first time, the VLBA data allow us to constrain with high precision the apparent velocity of the jet and counter-jet side to be $beta_{mathrm{app,NW}}$ = 0.132$pm$0.004 and $beta_{mathrm{app,SE}}$ = 0.065$pm$0.003, respectively. Conclusions. Fermi-LAT and VLBA results favor the youth scenario for the inner structure of this object, with an estimated dynamical age of 59$pm$5 years. The estimated range of viewing angle (10{deg} < $theta$ < 21{deg}) does not exclude a possible jet-like origin of the gamma-ray emission.
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The radio source 1146+596 is hosted by an elliptical/S0 galaxy NGC,3894, with a low-luminosity active nucleus. The radio structure is compact, suggesting a very young age of the jets in the system. Recently, the source has been confirmed as a high-energy (HE, $>0.1$,GeV) $gamma$-ray emitter, in the most recent accumulation of the {it Fermi} Large Area Telescope (LAT) data. Here we report on the analysis of the archival {it Chandra} X-ray Observatory data for the central part of the galaxy, consisting of a single 40,ksec-long exposure. We have found that the core spectrum is best fitted by a combination of an ionized thermal plasma with the temperature of $simeq 0.8$,keV, and a moderately absorbed power-law component (photon index $Gamma = 1.4pm 0.4$, hydrogen column density $N_{rm H}/10^{22}$,cm$^{-2}$,$= 2.4pm 0.7$). We have also detected the iron K$alpha$ line at $6.5pm 0.1$,keV, with a large equivalent width of EW,$= 1.0_{-0.5}^{+0.9}$,keV. Based on the simulations of the {it Chandra}s Point Spread Function (PSF), we have concluded that, while the soft thermal component is extended on the scale of the galaxy host, the hard X-ray emission within the narrow photon energy range 6.0--7.0,keV originates within the unresolved core (effectively the central kpc radius). The line is therefore indicative of the X-ray reflection from a cold neutral gas in the central regions of NGC,3894. We discuss the implications of our findings in the context of the X-ray Baldwin effect. NGC,3894 is the first young radio galaxy detected in HE $gamma$-rays with the iron K$alpha$ line.
(Abridged) Context. NGC 253 is one of only two starburst galaxies found to emit $gamma$-rays from hundreds of MeV to multi-TeV energies. Accurate measurements of the very-high-energy (VHE) (E $>$ 100 GeV) and high-energy (HE) (E $>$ 60 MeV) spectra are crucial to study the underlying particle accelerators and cosmic-ray interaction and transport. Aims. The measurement of the VHE $gamma$-ray emission of NGC 253 published in 2012 by H.E.S.S. was limited by large systematic uncertainties. Here, a measurement of the $gamma$-ray spectrum of NGC 253 is investigated in both HE and VHE $gamma$-rays. Methods. The data of H.E.S.S. observations are reanalysed using an updated calibration and analysis chain. The $Fermi$-LAT analysis employs more than 8 years of data processed using pass 8. The cosmic-ray particle population is evaluated from the combined HE--VHE $gamma$-ray spectrum using NAIMA. Results. The VHE $gamma$-ray energy spectrum is best fit by a power-law with a flux normalisation of $(1.34,pm,0.14^{mathrm{stat}},pm,0.27^{mathrm{sys}}) times 10^{-13} mathrm{cm^{-2} s^{-1} TeV^{-1}}$ at 1 TeV -- about 40 % above, but compatible with the value obtained in Abramowski et al. (2012). The spectral index $Gamma = 2.39 pm 0.14^{mathrm{stat}} pm 0.25^{mathrm{sys}}$ is slightly softer than but consistent with the previous measurement. At energies above $sim$3 GeV the HE spectrum is consistent with a power-law ranging into the VHE part of the spectrum measured by H.E.S.S. Conclusions. Two scenarios for the starburst nucleus are tested, in which the gas in the starburst nucleus acts as a target for hadronic cosmic rays. In these two models, the level to which NGC,253 acts as a calorimeter is estimated to a range of $f_{rm cal} = 0.1$ to $1$ while accounting for the measurement uncertainties.
We report the discovery of shocked molecular and ionized gas resulting from jet-driven feedback in the compact radio galaxy 4C 31.04 using near-IR imaging spectroscopy. 4C 31.04 is a $sim 100$ pc double-lobed Compact Steep Spectrum source believed to be a very young AGN. It is hosted by a giant elliptical with a $sim 10^{9}~rm M_odot$ multi-phase gaseous circumnuclear disc. We used high spatial resolution, adaptive optics-assisted $H$- and $K$-band integral field Gemini/NIFS observations to probe (1) the warm ($sim 10^3~rm K$) molecular gas phase, traced by ro-vibrational transitions of $rm H_2$, and (2), the warm ionized medium, traced by the [Fe II]$_{1.644~rm mu m}$ line. The [Fe II] emission traces shocked gas ejected from the disc plane by a jet-blown bubble $300-400~rm pc$ in diameter, whilst the $rm H_2$ emission traces shock-excited molecular gas in the interior $sim 1~rm kpc$ of the circumnuclear disc. Hydrodynamical modelling shows that the apparent discrepancy between the extent of the shocked gas and the radio emission can occur when the brightest regions of the synchrotron-emitting plasma are temporarily halted by dense clumps, whilst less bright plasma can percolate through the porous ISM and form an energy-driven bubble that expands freely out of the disc plane. This bubble is filled with low surface-brightness plasma not visible in existing VLBI observations of 4C 31.04 due to insufficient sensitivity. Additional radial flows of jet plasma may percolate to $sim rm kpc$ radii in the circumnuclear disc, driving shocks and accelerating clouds of gas, giving rise to the $rm H_2$ emission.
Centaurus B is a nearby radio galaxy positioned in the Southern hemisphere close to the Galactic plane. Here we present a detailed analysis of about 43 months of accumulated Fermi-LAT data of the gamma-ray counterpart of the source initially reported in the 2nd Fermi-LAT catalog, and of newly acquired Suzaku X-ray data. We confirm its detection at GeV photon energies, and analyze the extension and variability of the gamma-ray source in the LAT dataset, in which it appears as a steady gamma-ray emitter. The X-ray core of Centaurus B is detected as a bright source of a continuum radiation. We do not detect however any diffuse X-ray emission from the known radio lobes, with the provided upper limit only marginally consistent with the previously claimed ASCA flux. Two scenarios that connect the X-ray and gamma-ray properties are considered. In the first one, we assume that the diffuse non-thermal X-ray emission component is not significantly below the derived Suzaku upper limit. In this case, modeling the inverse-Compton emission shows that the observed gamma-ray flux of the source may in principle be produced within the lobes. This association would imply that efficient in-situ acceleration of the radiating electrons is occurring and that the lobes are dominated by the pressure from the relativistic particles. In the second scenario, with the diffuse X-ray emission well below the Suzaku upper limits, the lobes in the system are instead dominated by the magnetic pressure. In this case, the observed gamma-ray flux is not likely to be produced within the lobes, but instead within the nuclear parts of the jet. By means of synchrotron self-Compton modeling we show that this possibility could be consistent with the broad-band data collected for the unresolved core of Centaurus B, including the newly derived Suzaku spectrum.
A year after emph{Fermi} was launched, the number of known gamma-ray pulsars has increased dramatically. For the first time, a sizable population of pulsars has been discovered in gamma-ray data alone. For the first time, millisecond pulsars have been confirmed as powerful sources of gamma-ray emission, and a whole population of these objects is seen with the LAT. The remaining gamma-ray pulsars are young pulsars, discovered via an efficient collaboration with radio and X-ray telescopes. It is now clear that a large fraction of the nearby energetic pulsars are gamma-ray emitters, whose luminosity grows with the spin-down energy loss rate. Many previously unidentified EGRET sources turn out to be pulsars. Many of the detected pulsars are found to be powering pulsar wind nebulae, and some are associated with TeV sources. The emph{Fermi} LAT is expected to detect more pulsars in gamma rays in the coming years, while multi-wavelength follow ups should detect emph{Fermi}-discovered pulsars. The data already revealed that gamma-ray pulsars generally emit fan-like beams sweeping over a large fraction of the sky and produced in the outer magnetosphere.
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